Agricultural Resource Management Survey Program Changes

Agricultural Resource
Management Survey
Program Changes
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service
(NASS) and Economic Research Service (ERS)
jointly conduct an Agricultural Resource Management
Survey (ARMS) that collects production practices
and cost of production data on selected commodities.
Conducted in three separate phases, the survey also
collects detailed whole farm financial information from
a representative sample of farms and ranches across
the country. The results of this survey are the only
source of information available for objective evaluation of many critical issues related to agriculture and
the rural economy.

DATA COLLECTION &
INTEGRATION
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In 2008, the Committee on National Statistics of the
National Research Council released the findings and
recommendations of an independent review of the
ARMS program. NASS and ERS requested the review
as part of the agencies’ ongoing effort to improve the
program.
Following are some of the key changes to ARMS
that NASS and ERS implemented as a result of the
committee’s recommendations. The full program
changes document is available on NASS website at:
http://www.nass.usda.gov/Surveys/ARMS_Progress_
Report.pdf

DATA ANALYSIS

NASS has conducted
ground-breaking
research on the propensity of some groups
to not respond. NASS
continues this research
to identfy the effect on
data quality and to identify ways to increase
response.
NASS and ERS successfully aligned the
concepts and questions
on the 2012 ARMS and
the 2012 Census of
Agriculture and thereby
shortened the form.

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Both agencies have
hired and continue to
recruit new staff with skill
sets directly related to
ARMS data analysis.

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ERS is developing an
ARMS User’s Guide,
which combines existing
documentation, memos
and programs with new
material and an annotated table of contents
along with an executive
summary.

See ARMS Research Plan Timeline on Page 2
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SURVEY MANAGEMENT &
QUESTONNAIRE DESIGN
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NASS will conduct an
annual review of ARMS
and update the members of the the NASS
Advisory Committee on
Agriculture Statistics at
its annual meeting.

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NASS is working on a
cross-agency USDA
initiative to synchronize
administrative data. As
these become available,
NASS will assess their
use, as well as use of
its geospatial data, in
ARMS and other survey
programs.

ARMS Research Plan Timeline
In addition to the progress NASS and ERS have already made, the agencies have also developed the following research plan timeline. The research that the agencies will conduct will help ensure that ARMS continues
to evolve and improve. The ARMS research results will also help both agencies further improve the general
foundation for statistical and survey research. The detailed research plan is available online at: www.nass.
usda.gov/Surveys/ARMS_Progress_Report.pdf

2012
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Testing – Annual questionnaires are routinely pretested to ensure that respondents can understand and
answer ARMS items. For 2012, conduct cognitive tests for soybeans and wheat.
Nonresponse bias analysis – Annual studies are now part of the operational process by NASS statistical
methods staff; in 2012, evaluate 2011 data.
Test iterative sequential regression imputation methodology.
Large and complex farm project – Initial planning has begun and continues.
ERS and NASS will collaborate on research to explore the implications of expanding the value codes
used in ARMS.
ERS and NASS will analyze differences in questionnaire reporting for specific items related to mode of
data collection (mail versus personal interview).

2013
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Large and complex farm project -- Begin testing for ARMS and Census of Agriculture.
Testing – Annual questionnaires are routinely pretested to ensure that respondents can understand and
answer ARMS items. For 2013, conduct cognitive tests for vegetables, rice, and peanuts.
Nonresponse bias analysis – In 2013, evaluate bias in 2012 data.
Parallel test iterative sequential regression imputation methodology.
Begin computer audio-recorded interviewing (CARI) system development, integration, and testing.
Develop three-phase response rate for ARMS.

2014
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Begin animated graphical Internet displays for ARMS work.
Testing – Annual questionnaires are routinely pretested to ensure that respondents can understand and
answer ARMS items. For 2014, conduct cognitive tests for cotton and oats.
Nonresponse bias analysis – In 2014, evaluate 2013 data.
Initiate research on linking ARMS data to administrative data available through USDA’s Acreage/Crop
Reporting Streamlining Initiative (ACRSI).
Complete historic census data conversion for complex analysis.
Implement iterative sequential regression imputation methodology.

2015
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Begin to implement computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) for ARMS questionnaires with table in
Blaise IS (Internet Services) software for 2015 data.
Testing – Annual questionnaires are routinely pretested to ensure that respondents can understand and
answer ARMS items. For 2015, the questions/commodities to be cognitive tested are still to be determined. Conduct census and ARMS evaluation for census year.
Assess the coordination effort to synchronize ARMS questions with the 2012 Census of Agriculture report
form. Use data from both the census of agriculture and ARMS to determine edit and imputation rates and
evaluate nonresponse.
Nonresponse bias analysis – In 2015, evaluate 2014 data.

2016
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Use CARI for quality control in ARMS.
Testing – Annual questionnaires are routinely pretested to ensure that respondents can understand and
answer ARMS items. For 2016, the questions/commodities to be cognitive tested are still to be determined.
Nonresponse bias analysis – In 2016, evaluate 2015 data.
Automate collection of ARMS paradata.

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